He used his body all alongTo make the land we stand on So tired he rests in waterholesThen after rain he travels onAfter rain, a rainbow shinesWith all the colours in their linesAnd if you look up into the skyYou will see the Rainbow Serpent there up high When the world was young in the Dreamtime, some young men were out hunting for food. It had rained all night long and the ground was soft, leaving good animal tracks. The animals were fresh and flighty. They were having lots of fun and were making it difficult for the hunters, who found it hard to run on the soft ground. The hunters were getting very tired and could not catch the animals. Empty-handed, the hunters decided to rest at the edge of a small clearing. As they were talking and telling each other stories, they warmed themselves by the camp fire. One of the men looked up to see a beautiful arch in the sky, that was full of wonderful colours. "Look over there." cried out the young man, who was pointing up at the sky. "It is the Rainbow Serpent moving from his old waterhole to a new one." explained an older man. "Tell me about this Rainbow Serpent!" demanded the young man. "You must be patient and ask the Elders. They are the ones who can explain who he is." The young man agreed, and when the hunters returned home with a few small animals, the young man went straight to the Elders to ask them about the Rainbow Serpent. "The Rainbow Serpent is on of the Dreamtime Spirits who shaped the earth." explained one Elder. "In the very beginning of time, the Earth was flat, like a vast plain, with nothing on it. As soon as the Rainbow Serpent travelled across the land, the movement of his body heaped up the mountains and dug the rivers. With each wriggle of his body, he made another landform. The Rainbow Serpent was the largest of all the Dreamtime Beings. Even to all the other Dreamtime Beings, the Rainbow Serpent was enormous. Everyone was very careful to leave him alone and not disturb him at all!" "Later, tired with all the effort of shaping the Earth, the Rainbow Serpent crawled into a waterhole to cool down and soothe his tired body. As he sank from sight into the water, his bright colours disappeared into the depths. Now whenever anyone goes near a waterhole, they are very careful not to make any loud noises, which could disturb the Rainbow Serpent." "But when it rains, you can still see the Rainbow Serpent's huge, multi-coloured body arching up from the waterhole, over the treetops, up through the clouds, across the land to another waterhole, where he stays until the next heavy rainstorm, when he moves again to another waterhole." "To this very day people are respectful and careful not to disturb the Rainbow Serpent as he travels across the sky from one waterhole to another." The young man listened very carefully to the Elder, and promised that he would not be disrespectful, and that he would be very careful never to disturb the Rainbow Serpent while he is resting.
Once you have read the story, you can use this document to complete a reading comprehension task. When you finish this task, please e-mail your answers to your Australian Partner Student, who will correct this for you!
The Rainbow Serpent
When the world was young in the Dreamtime, some young men were out hunting for food. It had rained all night long and the ground was soft, leaving good animal tracks. The animals were fresh and flighty. They were having lots of fun and were making it difficult for the hunters, who found it hard to run on the soft ground. The hunters were getting very tired and could not catch the animals.
Empty-handed, the hunters decided to rest at the edge of a small clearing. As they were talking and telling each other stories, they warmed themselves by the camp fire. One of the men looked up to see a beautiful arch in the sky, that was full of wonderful colours.
"Look over there." cried out the young man, who was pointing up at the sky.
"It is the Rainbow Serpent moving from his old waterhole to a new one." explained an older man.
"Tell me about this Rainbow Serpent!" demanded the young man.
"You must be patient and ask the Elders. They are the ones who can explain who he is."
The young man agreed, and when the hunters returned home with a few small animals, the young man went straight to the Elders to ask them about the Rainbow Serpent.
"The Rainbow Serpent is on of the Dreamtime Spirits who shaped the earth." explained one Elder. "In the very beginning of time, the Earth was flat, like a vast plain, with nothing on it. As soon as the Rainbow Serpent travelled across the land, the movement of his body heaped up the mountains and dug the rivers. With each wriggle of his body, he made another landform. The Rainbow Serpent was the largest of all the Dreamtime Beings. Even to all the other Dreamtime Beings, the Rainbow Serpent was enormous. Everyone was very careful to leave him alone and not disturb him at all!"
"Later, tired with all the effort of shaping the Earth, the Rainbow Serpent crawled into a waterhole to cool down and soothe his tired body. As he sank from sight into the water, his bright colours disappeared into the depths. Now whenever anyone goes near a waterhole, they are very careful not to make any loud noises, which could disturb the Rainbow Serpent."
"But when it rains, you can still see the Rainbow Serpent's huge, multi-coloured body arching up from the waterhole, over the treetops, up through the clouds, across the land to another waterhole, where he stays until the next heavy rainstorm, when he moves again to another waterhole."
"To this very day people are respectful and careful not to disturb the Rainbow Serpent as he travels across the sky from one waterhole to another."
The young man listened very carefully to the Elder, and promised that he would not be disrespectful, and that he would be very careful never to disturb the Rainbow Serpent while he is resting.
Once you have read the story, you can use this document to complete a reading comprehension task. When you finish this task, please e-mail your answers to your Australian Partner Student, who will correct this for you!